Torn: More Than Forgiven, Hebrews 12:22, 24

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Stand with me as we open our worship with scripture.

Opening Scripture:

Psalm 32:1–7 NIV

1 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. 6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

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Worship Set

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Worship Through the Word:

Torn

O Henry

George Wilson 1833

Marghanita Laski

The subject of forgiveness is far more complicated than what you probably realize.  For example:

The following story was shared in the May 2, 1985, Kansas City Times. The matter had to do with the attempt by some fans of O. Henry, the short-story writer, to get a pardon for their hero, who was convicted in 1898 of embezzling $784.08 from the bank where he was employed.  However, you cannot give a pardon to a dead man. A pardon can only be given to someone who can accept it. But, death is not the only deterrent to forgiveness. Back in 1833, George Wilson was convicted of robbing the United States Mail and was sentenced to be hanged. President Andrew Jackson issued a pardon for Wilson, but he refused to accept it. The matter went to Chief Justice Marshall, who concluded that Wilson would have to be executed. “A pardon is a slip of paper,” wrote Marshall, “the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.” For some, the pardon or forgiveness, comes too late. For others, it isn’t accepted.

Jesus came to provide us a means to be pardoned before God.  However, just as shared in the previous accounts, we must accept it, and we must accept it before we die.  What an opportunity Jesus provided for every person on earth, yet so many squander their chance to be forgiven before the God of all creation.  Take for example the case of Marghanita Laski.

Not long before she died in 1988, in a moment of surprising candor in television, Marghanita Laski, one of our best-known secular humanists and novelists, said, “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me.”  How wrong she was.  We all have that opportunity because of the sacrifice that Jesus made.  Best of all, the forgiveness that Jesus offers us is a full meal deal if you will.  It goes so far beyond what the average person means by offering forgiveness.  That is the subject of today’s sermon.

Hebrews 12:14–24 NIV

14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done. 18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” 22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

The Word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God!

Father, please bless this Word which you have provided and which we now receive. Amen!

I.  More Than Forgiven,  Hebrews 12:24

“You are forgiven!” Such precious words. How we long to hear these precious words from the ones we love and for whom we have hurt.

Is this need not what drives us here today?  There is a deep need in each of us to know that God forgives us.  We fear the consequences if He does not.  We long to hear those reassuring words from the lips of our Savior saying. “I forgive you!”  You need not fear because those words belong to you, to each one of you, in the cross and empty tomb of Christ Jesus.

However, are the spoken words of forgiveness enough for you?  Do you want anything more? You may ask, “What more could there be for us?” I fear that too often we content ourselves with certain surface-level blessings, while missing out on the depth and riches of the Lord’s grace and the peace he offers us each day on a much deeper level. Paul prayed for the Ephesians as well as for us when he wrote in Ephesians 3 . . .

Ephesians 3:17–19 NIV

17 …And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

You are forgiven! And there is so much more!  To begin, notice...

A.  The Great Reversal , Genesis 4:10-12; Hebrews 12:24

This reversal is found in...

Hebrews 12:24NIV

24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

This passage compares the blood of two individuals.  The first is Abel, whose innocent blood was shed by his brother Cain.  The second is Jesus’ blood.  Look first at Able.  We found his account in Genesis.  Look with me at God’s response to the murder of Abel.

Genesis 4:10–12NIV

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

In this account, we find that...

 1.  The blood of Abel cried out for justice , for revenge .

As I read that, I always think of the souls in Revelation calling out to God, “How long must we wait!”  They too cry out for justice.  Now consider Jesus.  Jesus was also innocent, yet He took on our guilt.  When He did so, a great reversal transpired and instead of calling for revenge, we find that...

2.  The blood of Jesus speaks words of forgiveness .

However, this is not just some spoken word to make us feel better.  It is much more.  It goes much deeper than words alone.  Look with me at Romans 5:1-5.

Romans 5:1–5ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

You are forgiven! And God has even more for you, as Romans 5 promises!  Think of forgiveness as a suitcase just full of blessings.  So, follow me as we begin...

B.  Unpacking this Divine Forgiveness, Romans 5:1-5

When we are forgiven, there are three things that take place all at once.  We are justified.  We are reconciled to God.  And we are regenerated.  There is a lot to unpack here so let us jump right in...

1.  We are justified .  Romans 5:1

This is a legal term. It comes to us from the courtroom.

a.  To be justified means to “ be acquitted ” or pronounced, “ not guilty. ”

Because of all that Jesus has done for us, we are declared “not guilty” in heaven’s courtroom. In addition,...

b.  All the merit of Christ’s perfect life is credited to us.

Think of it like a bank account.  If I make a deposit, I am adding a positive fund to my account.  A deposit is a credit to my account.  When I spend funds, it is taken aware from my account.  It is what we call a debit.  In this instance, all Jesus’ goodness and righteousness is credited to our account.  When God sees us, He sees us as perfect and holy—just as Jesus himself is perfect and holy.  I do not know about you, but that blesses my socks off because no matter how perfect I try to be, I continually fail to live up to all that I would hope to be!

But I am not through.  This brings us to the next blessing.

c.  Justification brings peace .  Romans 5:1

This peace has two distinct facets.

i.  First, peace refers to the end of hostility .

God is not angry with you. He is not looking to land on you with both feet. He is not considering how to punish you for your rebellion and disobedience. So far as God is concerned, the hostilities are over.

Look with me again at Romans 5:1.

Romans 5:1ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God throughour Lord Jesus Christ.

If someone were to ask you, “Are you saved?” how would you answer? “Saved from what?” you might ask. “Saved from the wrath of God?” Yes! Absolutely! Peace is yours! This is the good news of the Gospel. 

ii. The second facet of peace is the blessing of shalom .  Colossians 1:20

Shalom is a sense of wholeness in body, mind, heart, and soul.

God has established peace between us and himself. How has he done this?  We find the answer in Colossians 1.

Colossians 1:20NIV

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Ever had someone say something like, “You need to make peace with your God.” The truth is that we cannot of ourselves do so because we have no power to undo or overcome sin without God.  So, we needed an ambassador and the only one who qualified for the job was Jesus.  God asked His Son to take the job and Jesus accepted. He became your advocate, and He provided, not only the terms, but the fulfillment of those terms at the cross for you.

So, we are forgiven. We are justified. And we have peace with God. But even this is not the end of the blessings. Look again at Romans 5:2.

Romans 5:2ESV

2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Now we find that...

d.  Through Jesus we have access to God’s grace .  Romans 5:2

What does that word access mean for you? In Christ’s cross, God has dealt with our past. But what about the present? What about now? How do I stand up beneath the pressure that mounts each day? Romans 5:2 tells us. We have access to our Lord’s presence. When we come to him in prayer, we stand confidently in his grace at his invitation and with his full welcome! He hears our prayers. He meets our needs in His very best Fatherly goodness.

We looked at this aspect last week when we talked about how the Holy of Holies was made accessible when the curtain was torn by God upon Jesus death on the cross.  In the tearing of that 4-inch-thick curtain that had previously closed God off from the people, God demonstrated that Jesus’ death had once again made access to Him possible.

However, there is still more.  We are forgiven. We are justified. We have peace. We have accessand the ability to stand in grace.  Now Look with me again at Romans 5:2 and take note of the last portion of the verse.

Romans 5:2ESV

2 …and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

e. In Jesus, God gives us hope and joy .  Romans 5:2b

First, let’s look at the hope.

i. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  1 John 3:2

The glory of God is the sum of all beauty, all holiness, all truth. It is the sum of all God’s grace and love.

We were created for God’s glory, but we have fallen far short of it in our lives. Our souls long for this to be restored. We were created to be better, to be completely loving and holy like our Creator. How many times have you said something hurtful or acted out in anger, only to find yourself saying, “I am better than this”? Deep down, our souls long for the fullness of God’s likeness to be restored and then reflected in our words and actions and thoughts.

Our hope, our confident certainty, is that this glory will one day be fully restored.

1 John 3:2NIV

2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Now, count down with me again.  You are forgiven. You are justified. You have peace. You enjoy access and the ability to stand in grace.  And, your future is filled with hope.  The result?

ii. The result of all this is joy !  Romans 5:3

“We rejoice in our sufferings,”the Bible says, not because we suffer but because of where it leads and considering all God is doing amid our suffering.

Look now at Romans 5:3–5

Romans 5:3–5ESV

3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Hope does not let us down because God’s love has been poured into our hearts! Our hope rests on the solid foundation of that love.  And Love is our next blessing, and the reason forgiveness has been provided for us.

f.  We are loved !  Romans 5:6-11

No matter what we suffer. No matter why we suffer. No matter how long we suffer. All the while, God’s love is being poured into our hearts like a river whose source is the bottomless ocean of his love for you. That fountain was opened on the cross where Jesus hung and bled and died. 

Romans 5:6–11NIV

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The Bible says we are justified. We have seen that this is a legal word meaning we are acquitted.  And we have seen all the blessings of that justification.  But now we come to the second action of divine forgiveness found in verse 11 we just read.

2.  The Bible also says we are reconciled .  Romans 5:11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

2 Corinthians 5:18–19 NIV

18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Reconciliation is personal; it’s relational. If I am stopped by a policeman for speeding, I want to be justified. I want to be declared not guilty, legally acquitted.  However, the traffic court doesn’t care about reconciliation.  The judge has no desire to continue an ongoing relationship with you.

God does. God justifies you. And God also reconciles you. He calls you his friend, his son, his daughter. He invites you to spend time with him in his Word. He wants to fellowship with you. He wants you as a member of his very own family!  This means you are not a family member by circumstance, but you are a family member by choice!  God chose you and when you put your faith in Jesus, you are choosing God.

Now if this were not enough...there is still even more!? Let’s count down once again.  In the cross, you are forgiven. You are justified. You have peace with God. You enjoy accessto his throne of grace which allows you to stand firm in that grace. You have hope and joy. You are reconciled, a member of God’s very own family.

So now listen and consider one last, all-important blessing. 

3.  You are regenerated !  2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 3:18

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

1 Peter 3:18NIV

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Christ died . . . so that He might bring us to God. However, we are not presented to God as the old creature, but we are a new person.  Just as Jesus died in the flesh, we die in the spirit and a new spirit is generated in us, making us into a new person.  All our old needs and desires die out to a new position and purpose.  This new purpose is the ultimate gift.

This ultimate gift is that we have found our ultimate home and family, and it is with God! 

It is not of this world, which is temporary, but it is an eternal existence.  It isn’t something yet to come, but it begins the moment we accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness. 

Romans 5:2NIV

2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

We now have our forever home, and it is with God. We live to savor him and treasure him and cherish him above all else as we delight in his love for us. What a Savior!

“We are forgiven!” But it is not just some word spoken; it is actions taken providing us everything we need to be reconciled with God.  Divine forgiveness speaks to actions God takes because of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, so that we may have a forever home with God and a forever home with each other in perfect harmony and peace.

So, We pray . . .

Good and gracious Father, how I would fear coming to you were it not for your Son, Jesus. If he did not stand beside me, pleading my cause, I could not come. But in him and his cross, I am more than forgiven. How can I thank you for all you have done for me, for all you give me in Jesus? Through him, I am justified before you and reconciled with you. My life has been regenerated into something new and eternal.  In you I have found my forever home and family!  All glory and all honor be yours, kind Father! In the name of my Savior Jesus, I pray. Amen.

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